Thanksgiving 2010

We went to Nebraska for Thanksgiving this year. My Uncle Pete and his family, as well as my grandma live in Nebraska. They have a big house, so it's a good opportunity for us all to get together. My parents and brothers were all there as well!

We left our house on Tuesday and spent a few nights with Amy and Greg. Joey and Kylah had been talking about spending time with Logan and Olivia forever! Needless to say, they were excited!
Somehow we didn't get a good picture of all four kids together, but we did get some other fun ones!

How cute is this...Logan is helping Joey tie his shoes (they did this all on their own.)

Joe and I took the kids with us to visit our old offices in Omaha on Wednesday morning. It was fun to see where we used to work, but I think we both agreed that we are definitely happy where God has us now.

We met up with Greg and Amy for lunch. Later that afternoon we took the kids to a fun bounce place.
Olivia shows us how it's done going down the big slide.

Joey loves them as well!

This was probably the most fun thing there. (I'm pretty sure the "big" boys had more fun in here than the kids!)

Knock out!

I kind of wished I could have gotten in there with them, but baby girl may not have appreciated that! :)

Joey thought it was hilarious to put on those huge boxing gloves.

Amy and I.

My baby girl and I. (I've realized that I call her my baby girl a lot. I'm probably going to need to change that when this new baby girl comes!) She has a new obsession with sticking out her tongue. It's pretty cute here, but not always so cute! :)

We were able to put the kids to bed that night and then Amy's mom graciously came over to sit with them so we could go out for a while. It was nice to be able to talk without the kiddos around!

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Thursday morning we drove to my uncle's house. I think Joey was pleasantly surprised at how short the drive was. He must have been thinking we were taking another 6 hour trip, because he was so excited when I told him we were almost there 20 minutes later.

It was great to see everyone. My aunt and uncle have four kids as well with families, so it is always a full, loud house. That's how we love it, though!

Dad and I.

Tony was the potato-masher last year, but his flight didn't get in until a little later, so Uncle Pete had to do the job (yes, that's a big pot and he's using some type of shovel-contraption to mix them!) Kylah was in awe. :)

Cousin Tommy, Aunt Patti, Dad, cousin Nick, cousin Jordan.

Cousin Nicole, me, cousin Ashley.

Thanksgiving dinner is always a feast to behold. There were 34 of us gathered around the table this year. Kylah looking adorable at the table. (She loves to have a braid in her hair now like her bestie Audrey!)

My brother Aaron and sister-in-law Esther. Esther has finals this week, but that didn't stop her from traveling to be with us for Thanksgiving! (Actually, she's just super smart, so she'll do well regardless!)

Part of the dinner table...Sister-in-law Gina, brother Tony, Aaron and Esther.

Joey was pretty excited to get sparkling apple cider! That's my cousin's daughter, Elizabeth, sitting next to him.

The "head" of the table: Mom, dad, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Pete.

There is always a football game after dinner with the neighbors and their family. I'm pretty sure the Manes family is on a 6 year winning streak, but the neighbors keep wanting to play! Obviously, I didn't play this year...but I was thinking I would have been a good decoy---just stick the football in my coat and they would never know if it was my pregnant belly or the football! :)

Since the temperature was in the 20's on Thanksgiving Day, Joey only lasted out there for about 15 minutes!

All of the "little" kids enjoying a snack. Let me tell you...having a 7,8 and 9 year old around really made our jobs pretty easy! Joey played with Zack, Elizabeth and Taylor all weekend long. We barely saw him! He was so happy to do whatever the big kids wanted to do. Kylah did great playing with them, playing with Papa or Gramma, or just playing with toys by herself. It was nice break for Joe and I!
Nicole or Ashley...if you want to let us "borrow" your kids anytime, just let us know! :)

Joey dressed up as a construction worker. He was very particular about getting all his tools on his belt.

Gramma and Joey. Joey is definitely a Gramma's Boy!

Gramma and Kylah. (Doesn't my mom look great?! She's done a great job on her Weight Watchers, and I'm so proud of her!)

Kylah loves reading books. And she's definitely a Papa's Girl!

This is Gina watching the Penn State game. Yes, she's actually looking at Facebook on the computer...the Penn State game is on TV. :)

Friday was the Nebraska game, so a big group went to watch the game. Joe and I stayed around the house (warm and a big TV!). I took a nice nap and ate more food.
Friday night we took a little girls trip to Roja (a favorite of mine when we lived in Omaha). A few friends of mine were also able to meet us there, so it was good to catch up with everyone. Sarah came (she's been my friend since 5th grade). She's also pregnant with her first baby. I forgot my camera so I didn't get a picture. I would have loved to get a picture of our baby bumps together!

Saturday we pretty much spent playing cards the whole day. I'm not kidding...from about 10 am to 11:30 pm it was a Pitch tournament between whomever wanted to play. Esther and I made a good run, but I think Joe and Aaron were the final champions. They may or may not have cheated... :)

Saturday night my Uncle Pete cooked up another fabulous meal. (Oh, I forgot to mention that on Friday he made Italian beef as well as gumbo...amazing.) On Saturday it was lasagna, eggplant, Italian sausage and Italian meatballs. It also was amazing. I don't know how he does it. I'm sure we all went away from this weekend weighing an extra 10 pounds. (Fortunately for me, I can blame it on the baby!) :)

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Sunday morning we stopped at our good friends Chris and Erin's house on our way out of town.
Their son Ethan and Joey are only 5 months apart in age, so they always have a blast playing together.

They had baby Wyatt a few weeks before we moved to Arkansas, so we haven't seen him since he was tiny. He has changed so much, and is just the sweetest little guy. Kylah was enthralled with him (gives me hope for when her baby sister gets here!)

These two just kept kissing each other...so cute!

We got home Sunday evening. We had such a fun trip. It was so full, but so fun. I don't think I have quite recovered...meaning, I haven't done any laundry yet! Oh well, another day...

We put our Christmas decorations up tonight, so I'll post those pictures soon!